Managing Your Bankroll
It’s important as a poker player to know how to properly manage your bankroll. The process of bankroll management refers to the player choosing how much cash they should risk in a game. Some players are simply playing for fun in which case there is no need for bankroll management however if you are playing for profit you must learn to manage your bankroll correctly. Here are some tips on how to do that.
Don’t Play with Scared Money
The number one rule when it comes to managing your bankroll is to make sure that you are never playing with scared money. Scared money is money that is needed for things such as food, rent or necessities. The money in your bankroll should only consist of what you have specifically set aside for poker.
The Bankroll should determine your Limits
Every game you play, the buy in should be determined by your bankroll. It should be just a small portion of your total overall bankroll, this is because every poker player – no matter how good, will enventually have a bad patch where they lose several games in a row. By doing this you are ensuring that it wont bankerrup you.
Sit ‘n’ Gos
Here is a good rough guide to follow for playing Sit ‘n’ Gos:
A bankroll of $25-$124 = Buyin of $1 + $0.10
A bankroll of $125-$199 = Buyin of $5 + $0.50
A bankroll of $200-$499 = Buyin of $10 + $1
A bankroll of $500-$699 = Buyin of $20 + $2
A bankroll of $700-$1,249 = Buyin of $30 + $3
A bankroll of $1,250-$2,499 = Buyin of $50 + $5
A bankroll of $2,500-$4,999 = Buyin of $100 + $9
A bankroll of $5,000-$12,499 = Buyin of $200 + $15
A bankroll of $12,500+ = $500 + Buyin of $30
Limit and No-Limit Cash Games
When playing limit cash games you should have a bankroll of around 250-300 big blinds/bets. For example if you are playing $0.50/$1.00 games you would want a bankroll of around $300. On the other hand no limit cash games are very different and have a huge variation meaning you will need a lot more bankroll just to be safe. A good safe amount is to keep a bankroll of around 20 maximum buy ins.
